Left high and dry
by Foundtoarvvie
Summary: It all started with a dream to his final days with his friends. Now finding himself back home, Kai encounters an old friend for a new job. But secrets are within the corporation and everything is not what it means. Both trapped, will Kai and his friend make it out? Or will the reason Kai's disappearance from the ninja pay the price?
1. Chapter 1

**Left High and Dry**

**Kai's P.O.V.**

"What were you thinking?!"

"I did what I had to do-!"

"You killed a guy. Tell me Kai. Tell me how was going after the criminal more important than leaving well enough a lone?"

"Hey wait! I wasn't only going after the criminal Lloyd!" I yelled. That wasn't how it happend.

"Then tell me!" Lloyd yelled, agrivated. He seems a little _off_. He's a little more aggresive towards me after our mission.

"He had a prisoner hostage! I was going after him because of the guy! He still a living person remember!" I told him. Also frusterated because he didn't belive me. We were out on the deck of the Bounty and the rest of the team inside. He Lloyd pulled me out here for a little _talk_, which ended up like _this. _

"Oh come on Kai, seriously? I was behind you. I _saw _you run off after the attacker with no prisoner in sight. So how am I supposed to belive that?"

"Well if you just listen-" I was cut off by a punch to the face. _Did he just-?_ I watched Lloyd breathing hard in rage as I slowly felt touched my face. I felt something wet. _Blood. _ I felt my temper starting to rise as I felt equal fury towards the green ninja, if not more. He threw the first punch- there's no longer room for reasoning. I was up for the next move. I threw a punch towards Lloyd but he easily doaged. I immeadietly followed with kicking him in the stomach. _Direct hit_. I thought vistoriously, but it was short lived because he back-fliped from the floor into a fighting stance. I too got into position.

"I don't want to fight you Lloyd," I tried for the last time to reason. He did not listen, because before I knew it- I was on the cold deck floor whincintg in pain.

He used his elemental power _against_ me.

"You don't belong in this team Kai. You only care about yourself," he told me in a low threatning voice I never knew he had. He started to walk to me slowly as I backed away from him nearing the edge. I peaked over to see the ancient ship flying somewhere I could recongize immeaditly - Ignisia.

"You, Kai, are a selfish, short-tempered, weak, pathetic excuse of a ninja." Okaay, that hurt. I wasn't going to show that to him though because right now he's the enemy. As he reached me, he forcefully grabbed my throught and lifted me up from the ground then dragged me closer and closer to the edge of the Bounty.

"You're not welcome here Kai. You were never our friend or family. Wu, Jay, Cole, Zane, Me, _Nya_. We all would be better off without you. So I'm doing us a favor- dropping you at home." Lloyd smiled a sinister smile. His worrds were hurtful but also got me even more angry. Just before he dropped me, I told him something loud enough for all the people on the Bounty would hear. I told him something that I never thought I would say.

" Fine Lloyd. If you guys don't want me here... I QUIT!"

He dropped me.

_Lloyd_ dropped me.

My _brother _... He left me _high and dry._

How did it come to this? I had everything- and now nothing. It all started this morning...

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_The morning breeze washes over a small town. The sun reaches over the mountains shining directly at it. At this time is when the townsfolk of Ignisia wake from their peaceful slumber and get to work. Everyone does something over the day: the women start preparing breakfast and wash clothing, the men start to head off to work on the fields or their own personal jobs not before they kiss their wives goodbye, and the children help their mothers or play outside._

_"Tag! You're it!"_

_"Oh I'm gonna get you back!"_

_Two children in particular are playing the basic game of cat and mouse or tag. One of the boys was a spiky- haired brunette. He wears dirty shorts, a faded red shirt and new and squeaky clean red shoes. His parents bought them not too long ago and they were his prized possession because it was also his favorite color. The other boy had frizzy, messy hair and wore dirty shorts as well and a grey shirt including wore out grey shoes._

_"Haha. You can't get me Jake!" The boy in grey, Jake, was about to tag his friend until he tripped on what seemed like a brick and being directly behind his red friend, pushed him down into the dirt._

_"KAI!" Jake steadies himself and quickly gets beside his friend. Kai was flat on his stomach and used his hands by his sides to gradually lift himself up. Groaning he got into a sitting position with a little 'ow'. But then Jake noticed Kai on a verge of tears staring behind him. Now this confused little Jack. As younger villagers, the kids fall or get hurt when playing so it's become a sort of immune to it. Even so, the frizzy haired child knew that his friend never liked showing weakness to others._

_So Jack was confused._

_Before he could ask 'what's wrong?', he followed Kai's eyes as they kept staring behind him. As he did so, he realised what was making the spiky-haired boy upset. His most prized possession was ruined. His previous bright red sneakers were now torn and dirty. He looked back at Kai to see that the dam of tears broke. Almost immediately Jake pulled Kai into a comforting hug. He waited until the silent sobs were replaced by small sniffles when he decided to break apart. That's when he remembered something and faced his friend. "Hey Kai. Do you know what could make this better?"_

_He shook his head 'no'._

_"I'll be right back," Jake said excitedly as he disappeared into his home. Moments later ran out holding something behind his back. Kai watched in confusion as his friend sat back down next to him. To his amazement, Jake pulled out two bracelets from behind him. One of them was red with a black outline of a dragon. The other was grey instead of red and had a black outline of a tiger. Jake motioned Kai to stretch out his arm which he did. The scruffy haired boy scooted closer and attached the red bracelet around Kai's right wrist, he did the same to himself but on the left._

_"My grandfather made me these two bracelets. They are one of a kind and they are made of special leather that won't mess up anything! He told me to 'give it to someone I trust and will never forget. It has to be someone who I trust with my life and the same to me. When given, the bracelets will glow to their corresponding colors and that is when it is known that they have a strong bond." Jake explained this looking at Kai directly in the eye as he continued." That's why I'm giving one to you Kai. Your my best friend and I trust you with my life and I hope you feel the same."_

_"I do Jake but how do we know if we were bonded?" Kai asked curiously. Jake thought for a moment then raised his finger, his signature move when he came up with an idea._

_"What if we fist- bump and see if that works?" Both boys nodded and did it according to plan. Once their fist touched, a powerful glow started imitating from the bracelets. Each boy started getting a strange feeling from it, too preoccupied to notice that their colors from the bracelets started slowly going up into the owner's body. Once the glowing ceased, they stared at each other in fascination and amazement._

_" Did you feel that?" Jake asked first._

_"Yeah! Did you feel that?" Kai followed._

_"Yup."_

_"That was so cool!" They said in unison. They stood up and started playing again. With knowledge of the new discovery and forgot of the replaced value possession of Kai's._

**Kai's P.O.V.**

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I woke up to the sound of the alarm clock. Gorgilly, I sat up from my shared bunk bed to see the clock flashing 10:00 am. Slowly I shifted back down into the comforter and closed my eyes wanting dream- land to come back again... Until my mind processed what I read on the clock. 10 am?! I'm gonna be late for training! I thought snapping my eyes open and jumping off of bed. Dizzy from getting up too quickly, I stood still trying to gather my thoughts. Quickly I did spinjitzu to change my red striped pajamas into my red ninja gi. Once everything was in order (like my hair had enough gel and was spiked to perfection), I rushed out of the room already forming an apology for sensei Wu and the rest of the ninja. Once I opened the door that lead to the Bounty's upper deck, I started blurting out my apology.

"I'm sorry I am late sensei, I didn't keep track of the time and- " I was cut off by my realization that no one was listening to my rambling. Confused, I walked back into the control room and checked if there was anyone. Nothing. Well this is weird. I continued my search calling out to sensei, my friends and my sister throughout the ancient flying ship but found came up empty handed. When I reached back into mine and the others shared room, I found that there was a note laid on the cabinet right next to the evil alarm clock. Grabbing it, I read it to myself outloud.

"'I didn't want to wake you Kai. You seemed to have had a pleasant dream but just to let you know that I took the rest out to help me with my chores. We'll be back around noon. -Wu'. Well I guess I'm home alone," I concluded. Making my way over to the dining room, I grabbed a bowl of cereal and milk from the kitchen. Man, I really wish I hadn't overslept. I skipped Zane's cooking- bummer, I thought grimly, but at least I don't have to be stuck shopping. Ha, suckers. Finishing my thought and cereal, I put my bowl in the sink to prepare for washing. As I reached out to grab the sponge, my sleeve of the ninja gi pulled up revealing a shiny red bracelet with a black dragon outline on it. I sighed in content as I thought about my dream. I wonder if Jake still has his bracelet. I wonder where he is now. Does he still live in Ignisia? I wonder if he remembers me. When I finished that last thought, I paused with a small frown creeping on my face. Why am I wondering so much? It's not my style really. I should ask sensei Wu if I could have a couple days off since there hasn't been much bad guy trouble so I could find out what happened to my best friend. Liking the idea, I nodded to myself and started washing my dishes. Once I was finished I headed out to the upper deck and was met with the nice cool breeze of the ocean (since the bounty was one hover mode).

"Well since the rest aren't here at least I should do something productive, like a great student Wu has," I declared to myself outloud. With a push from a button, a training course suddenly appeared from the floor occupying the previous empty space. I headed towards the punching back and started punching. After 20 minutes of that, I switched to fighting robotic dummies with my sword. After a few more training courses and exercises, I was sweating and out of breath. Making my way over to tip of the Bounty, I sat on the dragon's head watching the ocean in front of me. After a couple of seconds, I started losing myself in my thoughts. That dream. It's more like a memory from a long time ago. I guess Jake's grandfather was right; the bracelets last everywhere and it still won't be damaged. I really want to see where my best friend is at. It's almost bugging me. I've had that dream for the third time in the row! Should I be taking it as a sign? Maybe. Maybe not. Hopefully sensei will let me take those few days off... I thought to myself, touching my bracelet subconsciously. Apparently I had been thinking for quite some time because I heard dragons' wings flapping behind me and landed on the deck soon six pairs of footsteps landing on the hardwood floor with a thump! and make their way towards me. I heard voices but I paid no mind to them. I was only me and my thoughts consuming me.

"Are you alright Kai?" I jumped about a foot in the air, startled by the touch the person gave me. I quickly turned my head to see sensei Wu and the rest of the ninja (including my sister) watching me worriedly. I turned back to Wu and looked back at him in confusion. "What?"

"I asked if you were alright."

"Um yeah. You just scared me a bit. " I looked back towards the ocean, trying to pick up from my thoughts. Sensei must have noticed my preoccupied look because he sat down next to me on the dragon's head.

"Is something troubling you Kai? Your mind seems to be cluttered in thoughts. Mind filling me in?" He asked me. Calm and comforting vibe timing from him and I slowly nodded.

"I actually wanted to ask yo-" I was cut off by the crime alarm. My fellow ninja quickly rushing into the control room with me and Wu following in pursuit. We skidded to a stop when Nya pulled up the surveillance system of a bank and began explaining the situation.

"It looks like armed men are breaking into Kriterium Prison. According to the police scanner, there are about four guards held hostage and two others k-killed," she paused. The samurai was watching the expressions of each and every one of us and concluded. We were all shocked. We never dealt with killings before- sure we handled snakes, an evil warlord, a cult, and other basic crimes but we never handeld murder.

"Well it doesn't matter. We still have to rescue the people and stop the attackers. We know what to do and how to do it," Lloyd spoke, breaking the silence among us. We all nodded in agreement to our leader. He then turned to my sister. "Nya, take us to the prison as fast as you can."

"We'll be there in five minutes!" She told us then faced the controls of the Bounty. We arrived there moments later to hear screams echo across the desert area. Our hairs sticking on end to hear that blood- curdling scream.

"I hope they are alright," I heard Jay mumble behind me. I turned to face him. "They will be alright since we are here now. Although there are prisons inside, they are still people. " He nodded, satisfied with my answer.

"Kai's right. We are here to relieve them from their misery," Zane agreed.

"Be careful of my ninja. You may not know what lye's in that prison," Wu reminded us. We all nodded and headed to the top deck. I turned around to see my sister following behind us in her samurai X gear but I put my hand out to stop her. She looked at me in confusion so I explained myself. "This is too dangerous little sis. I can't have you come with us, I'm sorry but you have to understand." To my surprise and relief she nodded.

"Be safe brother," she told me. I nodded and started walking towards the edge of the Bounty, seeing that my brothers were waiting for me and put our hoods on. In one leap, spinjitzu to the top of the prison and crouched down, not wanting to be seen.

"Alright. There seems to be hostages in courtyard A where the prisoners are being held. I spotted 3 armed guards surrounding the perimeter inside the prison. If we split up we could cover more ground and see if there are any more armed guys. Jay and Cole, you will be going through courtyard B and C. Zane and Kai you will be attacking courtyard A while I scout the front entrance. After we get into positions, you will tell me what you see and I'll then give you the signal when to attack. Got it?" We all nodded and soon went to our respected areas.

**No ones P.O.V**

Unbeknownst to the ninja, one of the guards spotted them and aimed a silenced sniper towards the green ninja. He shot a small mind control bug to their leader and quickly hid. Lloyd instinctively shot his hand up towards his neck and gripping it. He put his hand down to examine if there was no blood.

"Stupid bug," he muttered slightly annoyed then went towards his postion. One team at a time, they made their way to their destination as well as keeping a watchful eye out for any guards. Fortunately for them there weren't any.

"We reached courtyard A. Kai and I have not encountered any more guards," the titanium ninja report first.

"Me and Jay haven't found anything either. We'll meet you guys in courtyard A," the ninja of earth came in through the radio next.

"All right copy. Wait until my signal, I too haven't come across anything. I'm on my way," Lloyd ordered. Once all the ninja were together, they came out of the shadows to face the attackers.

"Not so fast!" Kai yelled his (made fun of by the rest of his fellow ninja) catchphrase in a determined voice. Everyone in the room, including the prisoners and hostages, looked at him in confusion. The master of lighting was the one that spoke first.

"Seriously Kai? Is that your first line to every bag guy we meet?" Jay asked incredulously.

"What? I don't see you trying!" Kai retorted a bit offended by the comment.

"Guys! Can you two quit your bickering! Can't you see were in the middle of something here?" Cole scolded.

"Let the guards go and no one gets hurt," Lloyd tried to reason. Unfortunately for them, the guards did not listen and pointed their gun to a guard who was now shaking immensely.

"Wait don-" Before Zane could finish his sentence, the guard shot the guard to fall limp on the floor, now creating a bubble of blood around his head. The ninja could only stare in shock as the same guard shot the other two guards then ran off with a prisoner.

Everyone in the room was frozen.

Coming out of his state of shock, he ran out to follow the murder. Once he caught up to him, the man stopped and dropped the prisoner on the ground who was shivering in fear. The man turned to face the fire ninja with a sinister grin stretched on his face.

"Well come and get me if you want him back," he told Kai motioning towards the prisoner. The red clad ninja needed no other information and in one swift motion, he pulled out his sword and charged at the man. He swung the weapon first but the man doged to the right and punched him in the stomach. Luckily, Kai doged that and kicked the enemy in the face which stunned him for a few seconds. The fire ninja took advantage of those seconds and punched him in the gut which he doubled over in pain. For one last hit, he kicked the man into the ground and walked towards the prisoner to see if he was okay.

"Watch out!" The prisoner suddenly yelled and pointed behind Kai. Turning around, he was met with a punch to the face by a fist. Falling on the ground, Kai let go of his sword by the sudden impact. Picking himself up, he faced his attacker who was now holding the sword.

"Well it's been fun Kai, but my time is up. I have already fulfilled my mission. And just so you know, the name Chuck," he told Kai. And to the fire ninja's horror, right then and there, he wished he could not have experienced.

Chuck stabbed himself with the sword.

He stabbed himself with Kai's sword.

Although his mind was still paralized, Kai yanked the sword that was wedged the Chuck's chest from his now limp body. He turned to the prisoner who was now shakley standing and ran off towards courtyard A. Kai was about to follow until he saw the shocked faces belonging to his team. How much did they see? Kai thought to himself. He was about to repeat his thoughts out loud but Lloyd spoke first.

"What did you do?" Lloyd soak in horror. That's until he realised that the faces of his teammates converted to fear. He was about to respond but was again cut off by Lloyd. "You and I need to have a little chat when we get back to the Bounty."

After summoning their dragons, they made their way to the ship they called 'home' in silence. Jay, Cole, and Zane were all exchanging nervous and fearful looks with each other as Lloyd positioned his dragon in the front with an irritated look on his face and Kai was in the back with a concentrated look. Once they landed on the deck, they called their elemental dragons off and went inside with Nya and sensei Wu to greet them.

"I see that you have completed your mission. Well done my students," their sensei congratulated them. His response was silent, so he tried again. "I know that you completed your task but what bothers you?" Nervous glances were given towards Kai as he stares at the ground. Lloyd, on the other hand, stomped over to the controls and typed in some things then turned towards Kai and dragged him by the arm, disappearing to the upper deck.

**Zane's P.O.V. (During the argument)**

"I would like to know what happened. Why were you looking at Kai like that? and why was Lloyd so upset?" Sensei Wu questioned, concern and confusion laced in his voice.

"I wish we didn't go to that mission," Jay said grimly as he walked out of the control room. Cole was silent and soon followed him out. All that was left were me and Pixal.

"What happened Zane? You must tell me," Wu pleaded with Nya nodded with the same amount of concern. I opened his mouth to answer but Pixel interrupted me.

"Zane wait. We may not know what entirely happens. I'm going to review your visual data and replay it to you. Tell me what you see," Pixel told me as she activated something to replay what say earlier. Through my eyes, I see that we were walking in from the corner door and saw Kai with a shocked, frozen expression and slowly walked to the fallen corpse and yank his sword out of the body's ribs. Then Lloyd was heard,'What did you do?' I gasped. "Kai was shocked! If he did kill that man, he wouldn't have been shocked!" I realized out loud.

"Kai did what?" Nya asked fearfully then passed out. I looked towards Wu to have a contemplated expression, I sense that he was debating on what to do.

"What do you mean Zane?" He asked finally. I took a deep breath then realized that I need Jay and Cole with me to share my discovery.

"Jay:Cole! I have important news!" They immediately came in.

"What's so important Zane?" Cole asked first.

"Yeah, what?" Jay asked but was smacked in the back of the head by Cole as an answer. "Ow!"

"Well I discovered something. Sensei, when we entered and searched the prison, there were only three guards: two were shot dead by one of their own and he carried a prisoner hostage out towards courtyard B and C. Kai was the only one to go after him, as we were all stunned. After we freed all of the hostages, we followed where Kai and the criminal ran off to. As when we reached the doorway of courtyard C, we watched Kai walk over to a fallen corpse and pull his sword clean out of his body," I explained to sensei Wu about what happened. He and the ninja of earth and lightning looked down in despair, so I continued," But, I analyzed and reviewed my recording of the event and concluded that Kai was shocked and fearful when he pulled the sword out. So I conclude that Kai may not have killed that man, but rather the criminal somehow grabbed a hold of Kai's sword, most likely from a battle, and ended his own life." Their heads shot up when I first said 'But' in my explanation.

"So this means Kai's not a murder!" Jay exclaimed with Cole following in pursuit.

"Of course he's not. He's a ninja and would do no such thing."

Sensei Wu stayed silent but had a relieved expression to replace his lack of words. But then our happiness was shot out of the sky when we heard someone yell. More like Kai yelled.

"I QUIT!"

It was so loud, that it silenced everyone on the ship even the birds. Nya had managed to wake up by the loud noise but we paid no attention to her. All at once, we sprinted to the upper deck to see why Kai yelled what he yelled. Once we arrived, I only spotted Lloyd near the balcony of the ship and I saw something jump off his neck a scurry away. Before it got too far, I ran up to it and crushed it. I turned to see Lloyd looking around in confusion and Jay peering over the rail. What he said next startled me.

"Lloyd? What did you do to Kai?"

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Kai's P.O.V.

So here I am now. Falling to my doom by best- sorry… former best friend and brother. Yup. They don't care about me, according to Lloyd, so I don't care about them. Of course I don't think that entirely but not like I can say 'sorry I didn't kill a guy' and they can take me back because I said it myself- I quit.

So here I am now.

As I was nearing the bottom, I remembered that I can summon my elemental dragon. Duh! I'm such an idiot. Doing that, I safely flew down onto the grassy plain. As a past villager, I knew where my home was but I didn't move because I wanted to search the skies for the Bounty. And since I was dropped off from incredible speed (luckily I had my dragon or I would be dead), the flying ship was nowhere in sight. Why would Lloyd do that? If he just listens to me! I was getting frustrated with my own thoughts so I started walking towards Ignisia. I guess I won't need to ask Wu about that vacation, since it's now permanent.

After about 15 minutes into my walk, I came across the little town that now I call home. I sighed in contempt. Running the rest there, I now stood in front of my parents blacksmith shop. At least I know where I will live. I thought, looking on the positive side. Entering, I saw that Nya and I left everything as it was when I became a ninja. I noticed that I should say 'hello' to my old neighbors seeing that I'm gonna be staying. Making my way outside and through the town, I decided to go to extra shops along the way to buy some food. After I greeted everyone in town, I still haven't come across a familiar face. Sighing for the hundred time today, I walked back to the black smith shop and changed my clothes from my ninja gi to a plain white t-shirt and black pants. Probably never gonna use this again, I thought grimly. I made my way to the front of my shop and sat down on the porch, looking at the setting sun. That's when someone came running up to me and ran me over, engulfing me in a bear hug.

"Woah! Who the heck are you?!" I yelled, pushing the mysterious person off of me.

"What? You don't remember me? I'm offended by Kai!" The teenage boy told me. He had a slightly deep voice and had thick frizzy hair and tan skin. He seemed familiar but I couldn't place my finger on it.

"Wait! I have an idea!" He told me to raise a finger to prove his point. That's when realization hit me.

"JAKE?!" I yelled standing up.

"You know it bud. Now give your old' best friend a hug," he told me which I obliged to. I couldn';t believe it. "No way! How is this even possible! How did you recognize me, Jake?"

"Well it's not hard to forget that hair style of yours," he pointed towards my head. I gave him one of my well known smirks. "What? You're jealous you can't rock it like I can?"

"Haha, the same old Kai that I remember. But how did you recognize me?" he questioned chuckling.

"Well at first I thought you were just some random guy that gave me a hug for no apparent reason, that's until you said that you had an idea and lifted your finger. I only know one person that does it- and that's you bud."

"I thought so. So where've you been? I haven't seen you in a while. Where'd you go man?" He asked me as he lightly smacked my arm. I felt a bit awkward thinking about it but I surpassed the feeling and told him anyways. "Well actually when I left, I became a ninja for the time being-"

"A ninja?! That's so cool! Wait a second… Are you the famous ninja that stopped the snakes and lord Garmadon?" He cut me off excitedly.

I nodded.

"Woah! So what are you doing here? Where are the rest of the ninja? Did something happen?" Woah. I forgot that he asks a lot of questions.

"Yeah actually, something did happen," I told him reluctantly. Jake looked at me confused.

"What happend man? You know I don't like cliffhangers," he asked me impatiently.

"Um.. I kinda… quit being a ninja," I muttered the last part hoping he didn't hear. But luck hasn't been on my side recently.

"YOU WHAT?!" My friend yelled in shock. "How can you quit being a ninja? First: they are really cool. And second: I know that you did not quit the ninja for retirement purposes because you are 15 and there's another reason why." He knows me too well. Dang. I sighed and nodded to his claim. "So will you tell me? Unless you don't want-"

"No. I need to get it off of my chest so telling my best friend is my best bet," I cut him off. He nodded to show that he was listening. So I began.

"We were called on a mission that a couple of armed men were breaking in Kryptarium prison. Once we got there, we saw three of them guarding the hostages and no one else. As we got closer, one of the armed attackers shot a security guard and then two of his own people. We never dealt with cold-blooded murder before so we just stood there… shocked. After that, the remaining violator of the prison ran off with a prisoner hostage towards one of the courtyards. I was the only one who ran after him. Once I caught up, the man, who I soon learned his name was Chuck, and I fought. I won at first until he knocked me down and took advantage then grabbed my sword. He said that his 'mission was complete' and then he… he stabbed himself with my sword. I didn't understand and I guess my mind didn't register it but I slowly made my way over to him and pulled my weapon out. I watched the prisoner run out and that's when I noticed the fearful expressions from my teammates. They all thought that I killed Chuck.

"Once we arrived at the Bounty, my second home, Lloyd punched in some coordinates on the ship's control panel then dragged me outside. He told me that I didn't belong in the team and I only cared about myself. My friend, that I thought I knew as a brother, used his elemental power against me and threw me overboard. But not before I told him that if 'they didn't want me there anymore then I quit'," I told him the whole story about what happened. I felt a lone tear go down my face but I made no move to stop it. Jake stood still like he was trying to process what I told him, then he moved closer and raped me in a comforting hug. Just like the one in my dream. I returned the favor but only tighter. Like he's the only one left that I have. And it's true. After a while he spoke in a calm voice.

"I'm sorry Kai. That shouldn't have happened. No friend or brother should talk to eachother like that even if it was a misunderstanding, it was not right." He then pulled me out of my grip and stared at me right in the eye. "Listen to me Kai, you are NOT a selfish person. You do NOT only care about yourself. And NEVER think about yourself like that again. Promise?" He held out his fist that showed his grey bracelet. I smiled. At least I have someone at my side. And I'm at theirs. I fist bumped with him and watched the strong glow starting to come off the bracelets. Then I looked him in the eyes.

"I promise."

**To be continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Jay's P.O.V**

"Lloyd? What did you do to Kai?"

"Um... what?"

"What did you do to Kai, Lloyd?" I asked him again, starting to get annoyed.

"I don't know where Kai is. But let me ask you something. Weren't we in the prison?" He asked me. Before I could retort back to him that 'No. We are obviously not in the prison. Weren't you paying attention the whole time, mighty green ninja? ' but Cole beat me to it.

"Lloyd we left the prison a long time ago. And we know that you know where Kai is because you dragged him out here to talk to him," Cole reminded him.

"I did?" Lloyd asked, still confused. I mean, how did he forget? It only happened about a couple of minutes ago. I was starting to get confused by all this confusion.

"Yes you did," Zane came into the conversation. Oh! He should probably tell Lloyd what he came across. Probably that will jog his memory! "Hey Zane. Why don't you tell him what you found out from what you told us earlier?" He nodded.

"Tell me about what? And can someone please tell me why we are at the Bounty and not at the prison?! And why do you keep asking me where Kai is?" Lloyd asked, even more confused than before and now starting to get ticked off by the lack of knowledge. Trust me Lloyd, I'm confused too.

"We were at the prison Lloyd. There were 3 armed men in the building all huddled near the hostages. One of them killed a security guard and the other two men. He ran off to courtyard C with a prisoner held hostage and Kai was the only one who followed. Later we found him with a shocked face and seeming paralyzed in the mind as he walked over to a limp body and pulled his sword out of the criminal's ribs. That's when you started becoming aggressive towards him. After we came back onto the Bounty, you dragged Kai to the deck and had a talk with him. Now according to Pixal and my processors, there was a mind controlling bug attached to you. It seemed as though it was making you more aggressive and allowed you to say things that you didn't mean as well as wiping your memory from that event." The nindroid explained to all of us while pointing to a crushed object on the floor when he finished.

"Wait... what?" I asked still confused. Everyone groaned in annoyance than Cole smacked me in the back of my head. I turned to him in irritation. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Are you seriously still confused when Zane just explained the whole thing or were only in la-la land the entire time?" Cole asked me with his patience wearing thin. Geez Cole back up. You're in my space!

"Well no, I was not in 'la-la land'. I was paying attention to everything he said but I was confused about where Kai is, duh!" I told him. He seemed to realize the same thing and backed away. Whew... that was a close one. "Yeah. Where is Kai?"

"Maybe he's around the Bounty?" I asked hopefully but there was a small pit in my stomach that told me otherwise. I decided to ignore it for now. We (Me, Cole,Zane, Wu and Nya) all nodded and began our search. After a thorough clean through the ship, we came up with nothing.

"Where's my brother?" Nya asked on a verge of tears. I quickly comforted her in this time of crisis. "Well what do we do now?" I asked. The pit in my stomach is growing larger.

"Find him my ninja and bring him home. He could be in trouble for all we know," Sensei ordered us. We all nodded and summoned our elemental dragons then flew off in different directions. No matter how hard we tried to look, we came up empty handed. It was already turning dark so we decided it would be best to pick it up in the morning. Nya decided that she would work on how to hack into the bug that controlled Lloyd but she told us it would take her a while by it's type in the security system. But before I went to bed I knew something bad was bound to happen. Not like it hasn't already but I mean worse.

Because that feeling in my stomach wouldn't go away.

**Kai's P.O.V.**

A new day. A fresh start. I had been a complete 24 hours since my 'drop off' from the Bounty. I woke up in my old bed and headed towards the small kitchen of the blacksmith shop. I made myself a bowl of cereal and ate it. After that, I washed my plate and headed towards my workstation to craft some samurai swords, armor, and whatnot. I also decided that I should add some things for a ninja, like nunchucks, a scythe and shurikens. When I first met Sensei Wu, he was looking for anything for a ninja. So adding it thought it could be a good reminder of my past and the beginning of my journey.

"Mornin' Ka!"

"Morning Jake," I greeted turning around facing my friend. He looked in a good mood so I asked him about it. "You're all bouncy. What's up?"

"Well see, I'm starting a new job at some corporation that helps limit crime. You know, like what you did. I told them about you and they said they would love to meet you to see if you could make a position in it too. I know it's not the same as how you were a ninja but it's the next best thing. We could work alongside each other fighting crime, wearing cool suits and you could still use your elemental power of fire!" He told me excitedly.

"That's cool. I could give it a shot, at least I could still fight and put my skills into good use. Do you know how to fight?" I asked. He nodded, showing me a couple moves. I laughed. "Well let's get going." He took me to the outskirts of Ignisia and down an abandoned building. At least that's what I thought it was until we went inside and there was computerized machinery and things. Ugh I hate technology. There were two other people inside and made their way to us.

"Hello. My name is Dr.O'Neil and you must be Kai, the elemental master of fire and former ninja," the first man greeted. He wore a white lab coat and black pants. He also had brown hair and seemed to be in his thirties. He extended his hand out which I shook. Then I turned to the second man.

"And my name is Professor Wingston. It's a pleasure to meet you," I shook the man's hand. He had blond hair with dark blue eyes and wore a white collared shirt with dark brown pants. He also seemed to be in his thirties or early forties. Wingston continued speaking,"Here, we stop crime and villainous deeds. And since we already know that you were a ninja, we decided to put you into the field immediately. Your partner is going to be Jake and he is also going to be starting working those cases so you will learn together. Questions?"

"Uh, yeah. Where are the other guys? Aren't there supposed to be more people working on such a big project?" I asked curiously.

"Oh well. This is pretty new so we haven't gotten any new recruits. You two will be working first for us and the Professor and I rather work alone to this kind of thing, that shouldn't be a problem right?" O'Neil answered matter-of-factly. I shook my head 'no'.

"Well then let's show you around," Wingston offered as he started walking with us following. "Now most of this machinery is used to create weapons for your suits. But you wouldn't have to worry about that as your main focus is actually defeating enemies and bringing justice. There," he pointed to the corner of the room, "is the training area where you can keep in shape and practice your moves. Here," he motioned to a white platform area, "is where you are going to test your near gear."

Jake and I nodded.

"Here. Put these on." We did so. They were lightweight and seemed similar to my ninja gi. They were both black with silver markings but since we put it on, they added by themselves a symbol. Mine had a red dragon outline, and Jake's had a grey outline of a tiger. Just like our bracelets. "You see, they changed to correspond to their owner's personality. For instance, Kai you have a red dragon to represent your fiery temper and resistance. Jake, you have a grey tiger to represent your fierce determination and will. Now further in depth with the suits, you can access weapons with the buttons on your sleeve. Give it a try with these practice dummies." He pushed a button from a remote and appeared two sand bagged 'dummies'. I pressed a button on my sleeve first and claw-like knives shot out of my sleeve and near my knuckles. I ran up to the bags and slashed against the sandbag, splitting it in half.

"That's so cool, " I commented overly amazed. I turned to see Jake eagerly press his button and claw-like knives appeared from his gloved hand. He immediately rushed up to the dummy and slashed it, leaving five long rips on the fabric. "Heck yeah it is."

"I like that you boys are loving it but we have two more things to show you. First one is that your hoods are attached to your suits, have micro wiring in them so we can watch your battles and built in microphones." We put on our hoods, which look like my ninja gi even more. They tested the microphones which tested perfectly. "And the final thing is very powerful. This vial contains a serum that unleashes great power from you. Like Kai, if you take this serum in battle, your fire power will increase by your control when you use it. Since Kai is the only one that has elemental power, it will only work for him. I'm sorry Jake but don't you worry, we are testing another serum for you to use but it's still in development. So, Kai, would you like to try?" O'Neil handed the vial towards me. I was a bit skeptical at first until I heard Jake. "Come on dude! You haven't shown me your power yet!"

"Fine." I drank the vial and waited. I felt it through my blood and it felt like an adrenaline rush. I used my fire on the dummy one of the scientists put out and it caught on fire. And not like any other fires I conjured- this one can start a whole forest fire!

"Woah." I heard all three of them behind me.

"Well it's getting dark. It's time for you two to get home. You may come here whenever you'd like to train or test out your suits, which you may bring with you. We will radio in with you when there's danger," Dr. O'Neil told us while giving us walkie-talkies. We nodded and headed towards the door.

**No One's P.O.V.**

"Do you think it will really work?" Dr. O'Neil asked his partner, once the teenage boys left.

"I know it will. That serum he took is now coursing through his veins. Their microchips in the serum so all it needs is a command and then we can control the fire ninja!" Professor Wingston chuckles evilly. But O'Neil still looked worried and confused. "So why did we need to plant the bug on the green ninja to make him kick out Kai?"

Out of the two, Professor Wingston was the mastermind.

"Don't you get it you idiot?! We needed to control the green ninja to get to Kai! Now don't question my motives. After we take them on a crime, we can make Kai and Jake attack the ninja to show dominance to the people and make them fear us for we now have the most powerful weapons!" Wingston laughed evilly and the other only nodded in understanding.

**Kai's P.O.V.**

"Hello Kai? We have your first mission. There's a current robbery happening in Ninjago City. Come quick so we can give you your new rides," I heard Wingston come in through the walkie talkie. It's already been a day on the job and we already got a mission! I quickly did spinjitzu into my new ninja gi and headed towards the hideout. I met up with Jake along the way making it to the place. Once we entered we immediately got presented to our rides and the briefing on the situation.

"This is your new ride. Kai, you're up first." With a push of a button from O'Neil, a motorcycle drove up next to me. It had black and red markings on the side of it. "Jake, this is yours." Jake's came up and it was a dirt bike that had black and light grey markings. "They both have all the terrain and have the coordinates put in. There's Ninjago City Museum being robbed currently and we need you to take care of it. We managed to get this information before the ninja as well so before they beat us, the bikes will get you there in five minutes from the original fifteen. Good luck," he summed up. We saluted and drove off. It was really fast. Just as we arrived, we jumped off our rides and barged inside where we saw people cowering in the corner and others dressed in black carrying valuable artifacts from their cases.

"Hey!" I shouted, grabbing the attention of the criminals and the people. "Drop those artifacts and surrender if you don't want to get hurt."

"Oh look do we have here? Who are you supposed to be? The knock-off ninja?" What I assumed the leader mocked. I got angry as he continued. "Well what are you gonna do about it? Or is your little 'threat' supposed to sca-" I cut him off by running up to him and lit my hand of fire to punch him. Jake went ahead and attacked and detained the other guys who tried to help their boss.

"Don't ever underestimate me or my partner," I told him dangerously. He looked at me in horror. "W-who are you?"

"I am 'Fire Dragon'."

"And I am 'Tiger Claw'." Jake walked up beside me. We nodded and punched the guy in the face knocking him down and tying him up. We look around to see people cheering and calling out our made-up names. We walked out of the museum after we tied the criminals up and into the people I didn't want to face.

We ran into the ninja.

**Cole's P.O.V.**

Who the heck are they?!

"Who are you two?" Lloyd asked. They didn't respond but only looked at each other and nodded. At the same time, they started running towards us. We got in a fighting stance already preparing to kick butt although we didn't get the chance because the two mystery people jumped over us and got onto, what I assume, their bikes and rode off.

"Uhh… what just happened?" Jay asked incredulously.

"I don't know or even who those two are but I have a feeling they're gonna be trouble sooner or later," I answered what was on everyone's thoughts. Zane walked up to a civilian that just came out of the bank.

"Excuse me sir, but would you mind telling me what happend?" Zane asked the man.

"Oh you should have seen it! We were all stuck in the bank and two mysterious people came out of nowhere and defeated the criminals. Even one made his fist on FIRE! Their names are 'Fire Dragon' and 'Tiger Claw'," the civilian told him excitedly. Zane nodded respectfully and turned to us.

"Did you hear that? His fist caught on fire! Do you think it's Kai?" Jay asked hopefully.

"It could be the same person but we don't know that for sure. He could light his fire with some mechanics and whatnot. But you are never too sure to check. We'll keep an eye out for these two and see what their planning is," Lloyd decided after a moment of thinking. We all nodded to the command and went back to the Bounty. If it is Kai, then we'll take him home. We want to know what happened to our hot-headed friend.

**No one's P.O.V.**

Kai and Jake arrived at their hideout moments later after the museum.

"Mission accomplished. The museum criminals are now in jail for their crimes," Jake spoke first.

"Good work boys. How were the new bikes? Work well I assume." Professor Winston congratulated me.

The boys nodded.

"Well excellent! Go home and rest. We'll contact you for more crimes, goodnight," Dr O'Neil spoke next.

"Night!" They spoke simultaneously. The teenage adolescents left the older men behind as walking back to their respected homes.

"So when do we start the plan?" The doctor asked his partner in crime.

"In two days. We'll call them down to a mission and personally lead them to their battlegrounds in Ninjago City. There we will wait for the ninja, as we hacked into their control system to set off their alarm, and unleash Kai's inner hatred towards the ninja especially one in particular," the professor informed.

"What about Jake? Wouldn't he get in the way?"

"Oh yes well we'll give him the same serum as Kai's so he can be controlled too. But since he's no elemental master, he won't get a power up like Kai would."

"Okay. I guess now we wait."

"Yup."

**2 days later; No one's P.O.V.**

"We have another crime. It's back in Ninjago City in the middle of town square. Come get your bikes and were tagging along with you to see what other adjustments we can make on your suits," Dr. O'Neil informed over the walkie talkie. Jake was with Kai at the time so they both heard the message when it came through.

"Ninjago City can't catch a break can it?" Jake asked as they began running towards their hideout.

"Nope. By experience, I don't think crimes will ever let up," Kai jokes. Once they reached the location, they hopped on their motor vehicles and carrying an extra passenger each, they rode off to their mission, but not before they were offered water which had the serum in it. Once they arrived, the two teens found no crime in sight. Kai was about to ask if it was a false alarm but was cut off by evil chuckling.

"You kids are so stupid!" Professor Wingston laughed. "Do you really think that there was a crime? Or better yet crime fighters? Haha."

The teens were confused.

"Sorry. Let me explain. You know how Lloyd said those awful things to you? Well we controlled him with a bug. And the serum you drank in the water we gave you two, does boost up your power but we can also control you! To show strength against the people and take over Ninjago as you two as my own personal weapons!"

"We won't let you!" Kai shouted with anger and betrayal laced over his voice.

"Well it's too late. After you defeat the ninja for me, nothing will stop us. Goodbye." As he finished that last sentence, Dr.O'Neil pushed a button which stopped the useless argument.

Because Kai and Jake are now under control, as their eyes are blood red.

Unfortunately for the ninja, Nya, and sensei Wu( who wanted to see what all the commotion was about), they arrived just after the control happened. Seeing 'Fire Dragon' and 'Tiger Claw', the ninja all dove down using spinjitzu from the Bounty and across the two.

"Who are you? Is it you Kai?" Lloyd asked first after a moment of silence.

"Well of course it is! Kai here joined us after you threw him off your ship! Not only is he an amazing crime fighter, but he also wants revenge," Professor Wingston told the ninja with a sinister grin. "Go on Kai, show Lloyd what you can do." As commanded, Kai ran up to Lloyd and lit his fist on fire. With the extra power from the serum, Kai managed to knock the green ninja to the ground.

"Kai! This isn't you! You can fight this-!" Cole tried to reason but was cut off by trying to defend himself from Jake's sharp claws.

"Listen Kai. I don't know what happened with our talk before but I didn't mean-Woah!" Lloyd was cut off by dodging Kai's knives. This kept on going. Kai fights mostly Lloyd and Jake with Jay, Zane, and Cole. Kai tried to assist his partner but his target was towards the green ninja. The ninja and their opponents started getting tired and a form of civilians started watching the fight until the fire ninja spoke for the first time.

"Look Lloyd. You shouldn't have dared to come here. You were never going to win. My work here is done until you pay! YOU WILL PAY FOR TAKING EVERYTHING FROM ME! You will NEVER make me come back because like I said before, if you don't want me here then I QUIT!"

Everyone was startled by Kai's outburst.

"... I'm sorry Kai. I don't know what happened. I didn't mean the things I said. Just please come back home!" Lloyd choked a sob at his last sentence. He never cried unless it was for a good reason. Kai's face softened at his saden friend. He took a step closer to the green ninja breaking loose of the control put on him.

"Lloyd- UGH!" Kai's hands flew up to his head in agony. He cried out in pain as he kneeled to the ground.

"KAI!" Lloyd ran up to his brother but was forcefully pushed back by the person he wanted to help.

"You don't care about me! You only care by what I'm becoming! You said it yourself Lloyd, I'm only selfish, hot-headed and only care about myself. Well you know what? YOUR WORSE THAN I AM!" Kai stood up and stepped closer to Lloyd as he backed away. "YOUR selfish Lloyd! The destined GREEN NINJA that everyone cares about! But you don't think the same do you? Do you?! You're just a SELFISH, BRATTY, ANNOYING KID! And I'll tell you another thing… I should have never saved you from that fire temple," Kai told Lloyd coldly. The fire ninja punched Lloyd square in the face which made him fall down, he looked up at his brother in fear, betrayal, and guilt. As tears made their way back down his face, he noticed that Kai's eyes were flickering from brown to red.

"Kai," Lloyd's voice was small just like when before he used the Tomorrow's Tea, "I know you're fighting this. But I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I told you those things but listen to me Kai, you are not selfish. You care about others and put them before you. Your hot headed but that is what makes you worthwhile. I'm sorry I dropped you off the Bounty but it was never my intention. Your my friend and I care about you. All of us care about you. Ever since the fire temple, you were my hero. You were the one that I looked up too. I only tried my best to make you proud. So that's why you have to fight this Kai. Fight it for you. Fight for Ninjago. Fight for us," Lloyd ended with a final sob. Kai's fists curled up to fists.

"We need you Kai,"Cole came up next to the green ninja, "in the beginning, we thought the group only needed Jay,Zane and I but you showed us different."

"It's not the same without you. I always know that you are by my side in battle and ever since you left, it's never been the same," Zane came up next.

"We all know how you are. We see and tell you that your hot headed or short tempered and you were starting to believe that too. But it makes you,you and we wouldn't have it any other way," Zane followed up.

"Your my big brother. You always cared for me when we didn't have much even before our parents disappeared. When you became a ninja, you even tried harder to protect your teammates and me from any dranger. Your not selfish Kai, and you never have been," Nya stepped forward.

"My newest ninja to my team before Lloyd. All you wanted was to save your sister from Garmadon and you didn't let anything stop you, even your teammates. Soon, you learned to trust them and me. Like I said when we first met, 'the fire burns bright in you'. Your fire is your desire to protect the ones you love and to save others, not destroy," Sensei Wu came up last.

Kai was confused.

'How could they say such things? They don't care about me… do they?' Kai thought. His frustration was getting the best of him. All he wanted was to end Lloyd but- why can't he. He literally stands over his target but he can't do it. Kai's curl fists even tighter as they catch on fire.

Lloyd closes his eyes.

Waiting for the inevitable.

But his doom doesn't come. 'Pain? No. Blood? Nope. What the?' Lloyd thinks to himself.

He opens his eyes slowly only to see a hand waiting and a warm smile behind it with soft brown eyes. Stunned, he still took the hand and stood up. After a few cautious seconds…

He hugged Kai.

Tears streaming down his face onto his friends shoulder as he doesn't want to let go, as if it's a lifeline. A lifeline of friendship. "Alright buddy, I missed you too but you can let go now." Kai spoke softly with his signature smirk on his face. Lloyd shook his head 'no'. "Oh come on. Come on come on," Kai said carefully as he pried Lloyd off.

"I'm glad your back," Lloyd said wiping his tears off his face, as the others nodded in agreement.

"Good to be back," Kai said with a smile.

"Nah ah. You're not going anywhere," Kai whipped behind him to see Jake with blazing red eyes but Professor Wingston was the one who spoke. "We still have your friend here and you may have control of yourself but he still is."

"Let Jake go or you know what's best for you and your partner and run away free," growled Kai as his fury is now skyrocketing.

"Yeah I guess so… but I don't know best. TIGER CLAW ATTACK!" Wingston ordered. Jake moved towards Kai as told so with his claws activating and showing. Kai did the same with his.

"Woah! Those are so cool!" Jay commentaed excitedly. Kai paid no attention to him as his focus was on his controlled friend.

"You left me Kai," Jake spoke menacingly. "You left me for them! I needed you and you left me!" Jake ran up to his opponent. His and Kai's weapons clashed .

"Come on Jake. You know I needed too. It was unexpected! I wish I told you- ARGH!" Kai tried to reason but was cut off by a slash to the shoulder.

"But you didn't. You never cared about me or our friendship!" Jake yelled as he ran up to another attack but was deflected. "Listen to me! I did care about you and still do but Ninjago needed me too! So did my new friends!"

"LIES! I was your backup in Ignisia if you got bullied! I was there when you have gotten yourself into a fight! I was there when you fell and cried! See? You don't care and never have! I just had to be there for useless KAI!" Jake yelled as he kept throwing punches,kicks, and slashes from his weapon. Some of them landed an attack. That's when the fire ninja came up with an idea. Already feeling weak, he decided to speak as Jake started getting tired.

"I do care about you. The reason I got bullied was for me to make myself a main target for you not have to deal with them. I got into a fight because some kids were talking bad about you. And this," Kai paused as he pulled his sleeve back to reveal a glowing bracelet, "you gave me when I messed up my prised possession. You cared for me and I'm thankful, but this bracelet gave us a power to show our strong bond. Let me show you that power." Kai took off his bracelet and placed it on the floor.

Then he used his fire power to coat the bracelet.

The fire surrounded the weaved thread and the dragon outline started to glow. Then a large dragon of fire emerged from the outline. Now the ten foot dragon sat next to Kai as he stared at Jake. The fire ninja gave a nod of confirmation to the fire dragon which he roared towards Jake.

A glow started imitating from the controlled boy's wrist. Jake took off the bracelet and threw it off the ground as the tiger outline started glowing and emerged a ten foot grey tiger sitting beside Jake. The dragon and tiger walked up to each other and roared into their faces but made no move to attack. As if it was a friendly roar. Kai looked at his Jake as he put his bracelet back on and walked up to the animals to where they meet. He could see Jake's eyes flicker from red and their original color.

"Come on Jake. Just like old times,"Kai told his friend as he held up his closed fist. Jake slowly made his way as he walked up to his bracelet and kneeled down to pick it up and put it on. Walking at a normal pace, he met Kai as he held up his own fist and fist bumped his friend. "Just like old times." Magically, the dragon and tiger started dropping their solid form and transformed to two small forms of red and grey and travelled to their respected bracelets. Waiting until they are needed most one again.

The ninja came up to the two best friends.

"Guys, this is Jake. My best friend back in Ignisia," Kai told his group of friends as they waved. Jake did the same.

"So what are we going to do with them?" Cole asked as he pointed behind him towards two criminals who were trying to sneak away.

"Oh. Dr. O'Neil and Professor Wingston? Leave them to us. I still got that extra power serum in my blood," Kai told the ninja as he lit his fists on fire but the flames traveled all the way up to his shoulders. He turned to his best friend, "Jake?". In response, Jake activated his claws.

"You shouldn't kill them. They need to be brought to justice," Zane spoke up.

"Oh we won't. We'll just give them the same pain they caused all of us. Plus it would take all my pleasure away if we just killed them on the spot."

Zane and the rest nodded in agreement.

"HEY!" Kai yelled to the two men who stopped in fear. "Fire Dragon and Tiger Claw aren't done with our new mission!"

"And w-what mission is t-that?" Dr. O'Neil cowered behind the Professor.

"It's called 'payback'," Kai told them wearing his famous smirk. " I think you might like to know that we are guaranteed to win."

**The End.**


End file.
